Features

A Berkeley man awoke early Wednesday morning to find his neighbor attacking him with a meat cleaver.

The unprovoked assault began at 1:33 a.m. as the victim slept at his house on the 2700 block of Matthews Street, said police spokesperson Kevin Schofield.

The alleged attacker, Aaron Jordan, 23, of Berkeley broke the victim’s window, climbed inside and began hacking away with the cleaver. The victim “fought (back) violently,” Schofield said, among other things inflicting a bit on his assailant’s arm.

The fight moved to the victim’s porch, where the victim managed to wrest the cleaver from Jordan’s grip just as the first officer arrived in response to several 911 calls from neighbors. Jordan then began fighting the officer, resisting until the arrival of backup ended the fracas.

Both Jordan and the victim were taken to Highland Hospital. The victim was treated for wounds to the head and released.

Schofield didn’t have a medical update on Jordan, who was arrested for attempted murder and burglary.

Jordan’s family said he had a history of mental illness, Schofield said.

Botched Burglary

A couple called police when they heard a crash in their living room Monday evening, and when officers arrived about a minute later, they nabbed a man trying to escape. After a brief scuffle, police arrested Daniel Keihn, 20, for burglary, resisting arrest, possession of methamphetamines and possession of a deadly weapon.

Police to Distribute Free Gun Locks

Berkeley Police will provide 1100 free safety kits to Berkeley residents through a partnership with Project ChildSafe, a national firearm safety education program. The kits include a gun lock that fit on most types of handguns, rifles and shotguns, along with a safety booklet. They’re available—with no questions asked—as long as supplies last at the Public Safety Building, 2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.